“I lost a few goddesses while moving south to north
and also some gods while moving east to west.”
"A Speech at the Lost-and-Found".
Poems New and Collected (1998), Could Have (1972)
Maria Wisława Anna Szymborska [viˈswava ʂɨmˈbɔrska] war eine polnische Lyrikerin. Sie zählt zu den bedeutendsten Lyrikern ihrer Generation in Polen, wo ihre Gedichte zur Nationalliteratur gerechnet werden. Im deutschen Sprachraum wurde sie bereits früh durch die Übertragungen von Karl Dedecius bekannt und erhielt mehrere bedeutende Auszeichnungen. 1996 wurde ihr der Nobelpreis für Literatur verliehen. Seitdem ist ihr schmales Werk von rund 350 Gedichten auch international stark verbreitet und in mehr als 40 Sprachen übersetzt.
Szymborska hielt ihr Privatleben weitgehend vor der Öffentlichkeit verborgen. Ihr Werk stand Anfang der 1950er Jahre noch ganz im Zeichen des Sozialistischen Realismus. Mit dem Gedichtband Wołanie do Yeti gelang ihr 1957 der Durchbruch zur eigenen Ausdrucksform, die geprägt ist von Zweifel und Ironie. Häufig betrachtet sie alltägliche Begebenheiten aus ungewöhnlichen Perspektiven, die zu allgemeinen philosophischen Fragestellungen führen. Szymborskas Gedichte sind in einer einfachen, leicht verständlichen Sprache gehalten. Sie folgen keiner einheitlichen Poetik, sondern besitzen jeweils ihren individuellen Stil. Zu den populärsten Gedichten gehört Katze in der leeren Wohnung. Neben Lyrik verfasste Szymborska auch Feuilletons in verschiedenen Literaturzeitschriften. Wikipedia

“I lost a few goddesses while moving south to north
and also some gods while moving east to west.”
"A Speech at the Lost-and-Found".
Poems New and Collected (1998), Could Have (1972)
"We're Extremely Fortunate"
Poems New and Collected (1998), The End and the Beginning (1993)
"May 16, 1973"
Poems New and Collected (1998), The End and the Beginning (1993)
“There's nothing more debauched than thinking.”
"An Opinion Concerning the Question of Pornography"
Poems New and Collected (1998), The People on the Bridge (1986)
"Discovery"
Poems New and Collected (1998), Could Have (1972)
"The Letters of the Dead"
Poems New and Collected (1998), Could Have (1972)
“Toy balloon
once kidnapped by the wind —
come home, and I will say:
There are no children here.”
"Still Life with a Balloon"
Poems New and Collected (1998), Calling Out to Yeti (1957)
“So he's got to have happiness,
he's got to have truth, too,
he's got to have eternity —
did you ever!”
"No End of Fun"
Poems New and Collected (1998), No End of Fun (1967)
The Poet and the World (1996)
"We're Extremely Fortunate"
Poems New and Collected (1998), The End and the Beginning (1993)
"Pietà"
Poems New and Collected (1998), No End of Fun (1967)
“On this third planet from the sun
among the signs of bestiality
a clear conscience is Number One.”
"In Praise of Feeling Bad About Yourself"
Poems New and Collected (1998), A Large Number (1976)
"Born"
Poems New and Collected (1998), No End of Fun (1967)
"A Film from the Sixties"
Poems New and Collected (1998), No End of Fun (1967)
"The Great Man's House"
Poems New and Collected (1998), The People on the Bridge (1986)
"Pietà"
Poems New and Collected (1998), No End of Fun (1967)
"We're Extremely Fortunate"
Poems New and Collected (1998), The End and the Beginning (1993)
“Secret codes resound.
Doubts and intentions come to light.”
"Archeology"
Poems New and Collected (1998), The People on the Bridge (1986)
"Slapstick"
Poems New and Collected (1998), The End and the Beginning (1993)
"A Speech at the Lost-and-Found"
Poems New and Collected (1998), Could Have (1972)
"Conversation with a Stone"
Poems New and Collected (1998), Salt (1962)
"Our Century's Decline"
Poems New and Collected (1998), The People on the Bridge (1986)
“They aren't obliged to vanish when we're gone.
They don't have to be seen while sailing on.”
"Clouds"
Poems New and Collected (1998), New Poems 1993 - 97
"Hitler's First Photograph"
Poems New and Collected (1998), The People on the Bridge (1986)
"A Large Number"
Poems New and Collected (1998), A Large Number (1976)
"A Large Number"
Poems New and Collected (1998), A Large Number (1976)
"Tarsier"
Poems New and Collected (1998), No End of Fun (1967)
"I Am Too Close..."
Poems New and Collected (1998), Salt (1962)